What Defines Us
by Allen Bedillion Trahurn
Summary: Ryuko Matoi first meets Leon Afreds as he is being attacked by a group of students. From that point on, things at Honnouji Academy change not only for her, but for the pink haired Nonon Jakuzure as well. (M rating for various reasons, mostly language.)
1. Prologue

**What Defines Us**

 _A.B.T._

Leon Afreds was lying back on his twin size bed with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. A pair of black headphones pushed his straight blonde hair tight against his head and all outside noises away. His head nodded lightly to the steady, pulsating beat of his music and one lock of his hair broke free from it's restraint, falling in front of his head and bobbing before him. So distracted and in the moment of the music was he that he didn't notice when the door opened and Ryuko Matoi stepped in, looking somewhat battered and worse for wear.

"Oi, Leon. I'm back," she said, flipping her red highlight out of her face and frowning when she didn't receive an answer.

"Seems he doesn't hear you. Lucky for him," Senketsu said with a sarcastic smile in his tone. Ryuko rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, fuck off," she replied, and the sailor-suit chuckled before going silent. She took a few steps into the room and closed the door with some force, but the loud bang still didn't rouse Leon from his music. She clenched her fist and thought about leaping over the cluttered coffee-table to rip those headphones off his head but didn't. For one she didn't want to make the mess that was Leon's apartment any worse than it already was (though she wouldn't be the one cleaning it, that was for sure). For two, she knew that tackling him would only lead to to things she was too tired to be in the mood for. Instead, she let off an annoyed sigh and set the bag that was over her shoulder next to the door and walked through an open archway into the small home's kitchen. Leon still made no motion or sound to suggest he knew that she had arrived. With another sigh the girl pulled open the small, white refrigerator and peered inside at it's contents – a bottle of ketchup, a half-stick of butter on a small white plate, a half-full bottle of spiced rum, and a white box filled with beef lo-mein. It was this last item she was after, pulling it from the fridge and turning, closing the door with her foot and picking at the cold, grease covered noodles with the white plastic fork that was already in the container.

"He doesn't take very good care of himself, does he?"

"Well it's not like he's been here that long. Besides he's American – this is probably normal," she said, stabbing the fork into a piece of beef and bringing it to her mouth as she looked around. The kitchen was the biggest room in the house, but even then it was surprisingly small. There was enough room for the fridge, the electric stove next to it, and a small counter separating the kitchen from the living room. A microwave sat precariously on the counter with it's door just open enough to keep the light inside on. The sink, positioned against the opposite wall, was filled with soapy water. The stack of plates next to it, still dripping, told Ryuko what Leon had been doing before she arrived. At least he was keeping busy.

 _"Well, it's not like he's spending his time fighting for his life or anything,"_ she thought, twirling noodles around her fork, _"shit, it's all I can hope that he's in the dark about all this. The less he knows the better."_ She put the Chinese food on the counter and sighed, resting her hands on the counter as she felt the weariness, and a realization, hit her full force. This was something that affected the whole world, and she knew that, and even if she were to just call it quits and break ties with him completely, this was something that he was going to be a part of whether she wanted it or not. The thought scared her, and made her wonder why she ever got involved with him in the first place.

 **. . .**

"Ryuko. Did you think success would be like this?" the Kamui asked, but Ryuko didn't have an answer. Things had changed in the Mankanshoku household, and not just because they had begun moving up in the twisted world that was Honnouji Academy. She could see it clear as day, and it didn't matter how big the mansion was or how much money they had – she didn't like it one bit. Feeling restless, she suddenly sat up and started getting dressed in a spare tee-shirt, pants, and her white shoes.

"Going somewhere without me seems a little risky, doesn't it, what with everyone gunning for you?" Senketsu asked, but Ryuko merely answered by twirling her scissor blade, in it's shrunken form, around her index finger as she left. The sailor-suit merely sighed and let her go.

An hour later Ryuko was walking through the Zero Star section of town. Suddenly the place felt more like home than the glaring mansion up above her. What was happening was wrong, and she needed to do something about it.

"And I think I've got the perfect plan," she muttered, eyes on the ground and hands deep in her pockets. A stiff breeze passed her by and she noted how odd it felt to be wearing something other than Senketsu out in the open. It wasn't like she felt naked or anything. Quite the opposite, she felt like she was wearing too much, and somehow that forced her into feeling more vulnerable than ever. She was tough, she thought, but still. She was happy she brought her blade.

"Hey where do you think you're goin'?" she heard from nearby, and expected the worst as she turned to face her would-be attackers. However, as she looked around her, the one that had called out was nowhere to be found. At the sound of blows connecting with flesh she started running, looking for the cause in a path that took her down the street and through an alleyway.

At the end of the alleyway Ryuko found the problem – a group of One Star students had cornered what appeared to be a Zero Star. He was down on a knee with his arms around his midsection. His face was hidden under long blonde bangs but it was obviously contorted in pain. One of his attackers reached down and grabbed him by the collar of his white button-up shirt, lifting him up off the ground.

"You know that Matoi chick's been causing all sorts of problems ever since she got here. And to top it all off she's going after club presidents!" the student asked. The blonde stayed silent, which only earned him another strike to his gut.

"The last thing we need is another transfer making things worse," the student said again, preparing to strike again. Ryuko, scowling and stepping from the shadows with her scissor blade over her shoulder.

"Hey," she called, and the group turned to her, the speaker from before dropping the blonde back to the ground, "if you've got a problem with me then say it to my face!"

"It's Matoi! And she's not wearing her uniform either!" one said, stepping forward and cracking his knuckles.

"This is our chance!" said another. Ryuko held her blade before her and got ready to fight, but her scowl was replaced by a wide-eyed look of disbelief. The blonde was back on his feet, and with a tap on the shoulder one of the other students. When they turned they were met with a glare from dark green eyes and a fist, knocking them to the ground.

"Oh you stupid son of a bitch," said the downed student, quickly jumping up and punching the blonde back with all of his strength, knocking him back against the wall to slump down to the ground, unmoving.

"Now where were we?" said the student, turning back to Ryuko.

"Right about the part where I kicked your ass," she replied angrily, and in a moment she closed the gap between herself and her opponents. All it took was a couple of swings and they were down, a heap in the middle of the street. Shrinking her blade down and rotating her shoulder with a bored sigh, Ryuko stepped up to the blonde, squatting down and shaking him lightly on his shoulder.

"You all right? They didn't kill you did they?" she asked, brushing the hair out of his face. A trickle of blood came from his nose and she could tell from the crooked way it sat it had been broken. She reached behind his head and didn't feel anything wet there, meaning he hadn't cracked his skull open or anything, and when she pulled back he began to rouse with a pained groan. His eyes flickered open and looked around like he wasn't sure where he was. Ryuko wasn't surprised by that at all.

"You should've just stayed down and let me take care of them. You got a death wish or somethin'?" she asked. His mouth moved like he was trying to say something but what came out was gibberish in another language. Sounded like English.

"Yep, didn't get that," she said, working to lift him up from the sidewalk before draping his arm over her shoulder. He was a good head taller than she was but surprisingly light. Either she was way stronger than she thought or he had absolutely no mass to him.

"Come on, let's get your dumb ass off the street. I got somewhere safe for now," she said. The blonde struggled against her for a few moments and said more gibberish words to her while shaking his head groggily, but she ignored him until he eventually gave in, letting the girl practically drag him along in his stupor. Surely Mako wouldn't mind, right?


	2. The Writing and Linguistics Club

**Chapter 1 – The Writing and Linguistics Club**

After bringing the blonde back to the Monkanshoku mansion Ryuko was able to learn very few things about him. His first language was obviously English and she was able to figure out that he was an American transfer student. Though his Japanese was broken and somewhat sloppy he was able to give her his name, Leon Afreds, and a thank you for her help before he left, almost as quickly as she had gotten him there. Now she walked through the empty halls of Honnouji Academy, battered from her battle against Mako. She forgave her friend for her actions, of course, but that didn't make the bruises hurt any less.

Looking around, she realized this was the first time she'd ever really seen the school itself empty. Once the initial fighting brought on by Satsuki Kiryuin's so called "Naturals Election" calmed down, most of the students realized exactly what their chances were and went home. As a plus, Ryuko thought, it meant a free week for pretty much everyone. Except her.

"Oh sorry!" said a young looking student as he ran by with a stack of books in his arms. Everyone except her, and him apparently.

"Hey stop!" she called, and when he didn't she started chasing after him.

"Wait, Ryuko!" yelled Senketsu as she rounded a corner, hot on the mystery student's tail, "Why are you chasing him? He didn't even run into you!"

"That's not the point. If he's running around working while everyone else is fighting or leaving, then there must be something up! And I'm going to find out what!" With her intent clear (and the student ahead of her now panicked knowing she was chasing him), the two raced through the halls, taking turns and twists until he, then she, finally burst through a set of large double doors into a rather spacious library. The student ahead of her vanished amongst the stacks and, though she thought she was still right on his tail, seemingly vanished into thin air.

"Ugh, whatever. C'mon Senketsu, let's just get out of here," she said after looking through row upon row of books. She didn't know what was going on but she wasn't going to waste any more of her time looking. She turned her back on the search and started walking back toward the entrance to the library. And she kept walking. And walking. For far longer than she thought should be necessary. In fact, after a few moments, she realized that she couldn't even see the way she came in anymore. Just an endless corridor of books.

"Senketsu...are you seeing what I am?"

"Yes. Something strange is going on here. Be careful," the Kamui said, looking around. Their voices sounded loud enough to bust eardrums here, and the stillness in the air made Ryuko feel that the entire world would break if she so much as touched anything.

 _Fwip_.

The sound of a page being turned seemed to echo off the books around her and Ryuko turned, scissor-blade out in a second. There was nothing there but more books as far as her eyes could see. And when the sound got her attention again, and then again after that, it always sounded as if it were coming from right behind her. As if someone was standing there, taking notes.

"Come out and face me!" she yelled, stabbing her blade into the ground.

 _Fwip._

The sound was more definite this time, more solid than it was before. She turned and a figure stepped from a gap in the corridor that she could have sworn wasn't there before. It wore a cloak made of the pages of a myriad of books (though she was too far away to make out the words) and it's head was nothing more than an empty, shadow filled hood.

"What do you want here?" it asked with a voice made of dusty air and flipping pages.

"What's it to you, paper-weight?" she asked angrily, holding her blade up to it. The figure laughed.

"That's clever. But I think it would be in everyone's best interests if you just left, there's nothing for you here. Besides, don't you have an election to prepare for?"

"Well I was just tryin' to leave but whatever you're doing is keeping me here. This kinda looks like your fault from my end," she said, and made her stance more solid. The figure stood still for a moment, as if pondering what she had just said. If it had had arms, she thought, it would be scratching the spot where it's chin should be.

"You make a good point, but how can I be sure you're just going to leave if I let you go?" There was a moment where the only sound was Ryuko's breathing before, in a swift and angry motion, she lunged.

"Fuck this shit!" she cried, slicing through the figure like the paper it was. As if began to fall to pieces she could hear it laughing, fading off as a dry breeze passed through the stacks. She turned slowly, looking back over her shoulder at the sound of rushing paper and wind.

"Oh shit!"

"That's not good! Run, Ryuko!" called Senketsu as a torrent of pages began to cascade down on her like a tsunami. She began to sprint, dodging books as they fell from the shelves around her, but she couldn't stay ahead of the rush for long and eventually tripped, becoming buried under the crushing weight in an instant.

"Ryuko!"

"You," she grunted, fighting to reach for her glove, "ain't seen nothin' yet!" As soon as she felt the smooth plastic in her hand she yanked, starting her transformation in a flash of light. As the light filled her senses she heard a pained scream in the distance.

The next thing she knew, Ryuko was standing at the entrance to the library surrounded by a group of scared looking One and Zero Star students. She wasn't synchronized with Senketsu anymore, and her scissor blade wasn't even out. In fact, it looked like nothing had happened at all.

"What the...hell?" she said, looking around with wild eyes at the students around her. As her gaze passed over each they seemed to cringe and step lightly away from her. As her eyes re-centered to the front, she saw someone kneeling and gripping at his left hand. He was wearing a long gray jacket and in front of him was a small black book and a pen. She recognized him immediately.

"Leon...what the hell?!" she said angrily, stomping forward only to be stopped by a group of three younger looking students, first years by the look of them. Their legs shook underneath them and there were tears in their eyes, but they stood resolute against her with fists clenched tight. This was enough to stay her hand, and enough to give Leon a chance to stand, picking up his book and pen and dusting himself off. He looked at Ryuko with confusion for a moment and, as it began to hit him, his eyes grew wide.

"Wait...the person who helped me out last night...that was you?" he laughed and slapped a hand to his forehead, "And here I thought you were here to wipe me out like you did so many other club presidents."

"And who said I'm not going to after all this, asshole?" she asked, crossing her arms and staring him down. He matched her gaze for a moment, a smarmy smile on his face, then closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Well, I doubt I could stop you," then, opening his eyes and adopting a more serious look, "I am Leon Afreds, President of the Writing and Linguistics Club. And I swear I don't mean you any harm." He couldn't keep his composure near the end and, at the words 'I swear', had to stifle more laughter. Ryuko was clearly not as amused as he was, her scowl only deepening with every second he spent talking. When he stopped, she took another step forward and the students parted for her, their courage from earlier clearly spent. She stepped right up to his face, having to look up a little as she did so, and continued to glare in silence. Leon was acutely aware of the sound of her breathing and noted the peculiar gear shape in her blue eyes. She, on the other hand, noted that the jacket he was wearing was the same material most Goku uniforms were made of – a kind of silver cloth mixed with Life Fibers visible on the inside – and there were two small silver stars on the collar. Underneath that was a white button up tee-shirt with some blood stains where his blood must have fallen the night before, and below all that he wore a pair of black slacks and black shoes. Overall, aside from the obvious fact that he hadn't changed his shirt, he looked more professional than she expected him to. That, and his Japanese was strangely...fluent.

"So what was that just now? The books and the paper dude? Care to explain?"

"You mean my short-story?" Ryuko stepped back and crossed her arms again, still glaring.

"No not..." she sighed and held the bridge of her nose between her index finger and thumb as she closed her eyes, "the...I dunno the illusion or whatever that was."

"Yeah. My short story, look," Leon answered, holding the black book out for her. Reluctantly she took it and slowly opened it somewhere in the middle. Sure enough, she found a short passage describing not only herself, but the events that had seemingly come to pass moments before.

"I guess I should explain," Leon said, taking a seat and clasping his hands in his lap. The other students of the Writing Club seemed to relax, going back to what they had apparently been doing before – running through stack upon stack of student papers.

"What are you a hypnotist or some shit?" Ryuko asked, clapping Leon's book closed and tossing it to him. He caught it without looking up.

"Something like that, I guess. My Uniform is designed to make the things I write and say a whole lot more believable. Y'know that feeling when you're reading something and you can see it in your head," he tapped his temple at this, "it's like that, but times a thousand. In the fiction crowd we call that 'suspension of disbelief.'"

"Yeah whatever. Sounds like a whole bunch of lies to me," Ryuko said, which only seemed to fuel the annoying smile of the American in front of her.

"Well that's all fiction is, really. Lying, creatively." Leon replied, and Ryuko rolled her eyes. She didn't get it, and she didn't care. It was all self-indulgent nonsense from a man who thought he knew exactly what he was talking about. What a load of shit.

 **. . .**

After Ryuko left the library Leon was approached by the student she had chased there in the first place. He had a shamed look on his face and gave a short bow before speaking.

"I'm sorry, Afred -"

"Just call me Leon. Honorifics make me feel weird, you know that."

"Of course...I guess you can call me Yamada then," the student said somewhat bashfully before snapping back to the matter at hand, "Anyway Leon, I'm sorry I brought her in here."

"It's fine, not your fault. I'm just happy she didn't decide to wreck the place," Leon said as he patted the young man on the back before turning to the table behind him.

"Let's get these done and call it a day," he said to the group at large, counting at least twenty heads including himself. Each of them was busy at their own small stack of papers, listening even though it seemed like they were all lost in their own little worlds as they worked. Yamada, scratching the back of his head and ruffling his short black hair around a little bit, took his seat and did the same. Within moments the room was filled with the sound of scratching pens, the flipping of pages, and the slow, nearly synchronized breathing of those present. At least, this was how it was for a few minutes, before someone slammed their pen down and flipped their papers in frustration, drawing the eyes of every other person in the room.

"Is something bothering you, Matsuo?" Leon asked the rather tall looking redhead at the other end of the room. She was a One Star student sitting in a small group of Zero Stars, all of which were cowering back a bit from her rage. With an angry sigh the young woman pulled her glasses, thin framed and looking like they were cut horizontally down the middle, from her face and glared at him with dark brown eyes.

"Well, other than you completely ignoring the fact that we are not on a first name basis, the writing in these papers is atrocious. It's not even like we're getting sent the worst work here, either. It's like Kiryuin is actually _telling_ the students to do a bad job. I mean, I can't be the only one that thinks that, can I?" Mutterings of agreement rippled through the members of the Writing Club, and even Leon found himself nodding.

"Even she couldn't get away from something like that, though. She may be ruthless but she's not unfair," he said, matching Matsuo's angry gaze with his own pensive one, "I mean, when I brought the idea of a Writing and Linguistics Club to her attention she was more than happy to approve, and I like to think we've all seen marked benefits in our own work, as well as the work of the students that come to us."

"That's all well and good, Afreds," Matsuo countered, "but we're never going to be able to reach any of our real goals if we're stuck working out every comma splice and run-on sentence in the school. There's just too much."

"I know. Believe me I know," Leon said, resting his hands on the table in front of him and tilting his head down in thought. She was right, and there was nothing else he could say at this point. At home one of his friends would say it was "his day in the barrel," and he would laugh about it. He would laugh because, deep down, no matter what happened, he knew that things would work out in the end.

But he wasn't there.

"Listen...Afreds," Matsuo started, noting the dark look on the club president's face, "it's not that I don't think this club can't make it, or that you can't cut it, or anything like that. But we aren't going to get anywhere unless we actually _do_ something. We can't let being walked all over by the student council be what," she paused for a moment, looking behind Leon, seeming to question whether or not she should continue. Then, with conviction, "be what defines us." Leon turned to look at what she was just as the sound of slow clapping started. Standing in the doorway of the library was none other than Nonon Jakuzure in her white band uniform and skull adorned drum-major's hat. She had a sarcastic smile on her face and her pink colored eyes were somewhat narrowed and fierce looking.

"Well, Leon. At least some of your people have got some attitude," she said, taking a few steps into the room and twirling her baton. While the rest of the club's eyes were on her, Leon merely rolled his own and turned back to his work.

"Well, that's why she's my vice, Jakuzure. What do you want?" he said as the pink haired girl approached, reading over his shoulder. Her smile was ever-present and, if he was being honest, cute. Or, if he was being smart, dangerous and annoying. There were a few moments of silence as Nonon watched and Leon wrote, until the latter finally sighed and put his pen down before craning his head back to look at her.

"I assume you're not just here to watch us work and freak everyone out. Then again I suppose that's not all that outlandish."

"Lady Satsuki wants to talk with you about the work she has you doing. I've been sent to collect you."

"Funny. Isn't 'collecting' people more Gamagori's thing?" Leon said, standing and offering his arm to the significantly shorter woman. As she took it with a clearly sarcastic grin Leon cast a look back at Matsuo that said "save me" and she gave him a look that said "you're on your own" as he was walked out of the room.

"So what is it that I'm needed for anyway?" he asked as they made their way down the hall. Through the windows he saw that Satsuki's tower was covered in glowing red Life Fibers, which only brought more questions to his mind. He decided he would focus on one at a time.

"My guess? Progress report. Whatever it is you would be better off not questioning her."

"Right, right. Blind loyalty and all that. Grand plans and blah blah -" he was cut short by a quick, hard punch to the arm. He laughed and rubbed the spot as she let him go, crossing her own arms and glaring at him before turning her attention forward.

"So, _are_ you making any progress? As I've heard the Writing Club has been spending all their waking hours working on those papers," she asked. Her tone was, to his surprise, more concerned than sarcastic, which seemed abnormal coming from her. Then again, he hadn't known her for all that long either. Perhaps, underneath the layers of venom and sarcasm, there actually _was_ a deep thinking and complex human being.

"We're getting through it but it's a challenge. The work itself isn't difficult – I mean, it's just proofreading – but it all takes time. And the sheer volume of it is just..." he made a sound of disgust rather than continue. Nonon glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow before he continued.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because, like it or not, your club falls under my jurisdiction. If you do poorly then that reflects on me," then, after a pause and a sigh, "I tried to send some help your way but Lady Satsuki wants you to pull through on your own."

"Looking out for me, huh? If I didn't know any better I'd say you had a few ulterior motives," he said, earning him another punch in the arm from the now lightly blushing girl next to him.

"Please. You're barely a speck on the radar around here, and you're going to stay that way living in the slums with the rest of the Zero Stars. I'm just making sure you don't end up dragging me down with you."

"Of course," Leon said. He made it no secret that, though he was a club president and technically a Two Star student, he didn't take the benefits that came with the title. By his own admission, he was more comfortable in an apartment than a house. In the former he was less likely to waste a bunch of space. And, of course, that meant that the money he would have been getting as a Two Star could be used for something that was actually worth the expense. What that something was to be, however, was beyond him. Thoughts such as these filled the silence as Leon and Nonon made their way to where Satsuki Kiryuin waited.


	3. It's a Small World, Apparently

**Chapter 2 – It's a Small World, Apparently**

Leon was immediately uneasy the second the Life Fiber cocoon split open to allow himself and Nonon into the upper levels of Satsuki's tower. The inside was empty and filled with a red-orange glow that made it almost seem like twilight was upon them. Too bad it was noon, Leon thought as the girl next to him stepped through the the building's deserted guts, leading the way. Her steps were quick and brisk, and the look on her face was decidedly more stoney than it was before. Apparently, now that they were there, she was all business. In response to this abrupt change (and the heavy atmosphere it brought with it) Leon shoved his hands into his pockets and began clicking the pen he found there. It was a useless gesture but, for some reason or another, he found it calming. By the time they stepped into the student council office, in fact, he was confident and smirking.

"I've been waiting for you," came the voice of Satsuki Kiryuin from the other side of an expensive looking desk. Were Leon writing this scene he might have claimed it was made of mahogany or some other exotic wood, but in all honesty he couldn't tell mahogany from particleboard.

"Take a seat," Satsuki said, her hand coming into view from the other side of her chair in a lazy gesture to the comparatively plain wooden chair just in front of him. Nonon stepped around to stand next to the desk as he pulled the seat back and sat in it, staring at the back of Satsuki's chair and waiting for her to speak. She did not turn to face him.

"Please, have a drink. I had Soroi prepare you a cup," she said, her tone pleasant. Leon knew just like anyone just how much "pleasantry" such a tone could hold from her, but played along with it.

"You're too kind, Lady Satsuki," he said, taking the cup and taking a sip from the steaming amber liquid within. It was all right, he thought, but could do with a spoonful of sugar or two. Or three.

"I trust your Goku Uniform is meeting your expectations? It was designed to pick up some of your...slack."

"If by that you mean the obvious language barrier then yes. The Uniform is performing to and above my expectations. Though I go back to whatever semblance of language I had before when I take it off."

"Well of course, you can't expect something that helps you when you wear it to help you when you don't," said Satsuki, taking a pause here. He heard the sound of a teacup being placed lightly on something ceramic before she continued.

"And what about it's other capabilities?"

"Still figuring it out. It seems my special power is heavily reliant on the needle pen you gave me, and the paper control is heavily limited," Leon answered before draining his own cup and setting it down on the desk with some force. It wasn't enough to break it, but it was enough to shatter the growing tension in the room.

"Let's cut to the chase. You called me in here for a reason. What is it?" At this Nonon gave him an exasperated look, but Satsuki merely chuckled before turning her chair to face him. There was an amused smile on her lips and her blue eyes practically glowed with confidence.

"Straight to the point then. I've decided to amend our agreement."

"This is going to be interesting," Leon said, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. For a moment he wondered if he should dare to put his legs up on the desk, but decided against it. He had a certain affinity for his feet and didn't want to lose them.

"As you already know," started Satsuki, "our arrangement for your club is that you assist the rest of the student body in some way. Being a club based around writing and language, it seemed obvious that helping the students with their papers and essays for classes was what you should do."

"Yes, and?"

"There will be a lot of changes at Honnouji Academy after the Naturals Election. Because of this I have no choice but to enact a time limit on your work."

"A time limit...you can't be serious you're giving me a deadline? What about the deadlines already in place for the papers? I should have at least a semester."

"You have seven days. Consider this your contribution to the Election. Succeed and your Writing and Linguistics Club will be allowed to continue functioning."

"You realize that's not as much of an incentive as you think it is," Leon said, eyes narrowed. He was pissed, but he also had nothing but bluffs at this point, "if you're going to fuck me around the least you could do is actually make it worth my time. That or take me to dinner first." Silence followed his words, and he did his level best to keep his gaze strong on her own. Even if he wanted to, Suspension of Disbelief wouldn't work on her. He had to rely on his own silver tongue at this point, and he just hoped she wouldn't see right through him.

"Fine," she said, earning a confused look from both Leon and Nonon, "Jakuzure here has already spoken well of your progress so far, and you're right to think it would be unfair of me to not offer you something more." She stopped for a moment, as if to ponder her decision, but Leon could tell she had decided before they even began speaking.

"Should you succeed, you will be rewarded with a Three Star Goku Uniform and all of your club members not already One Star Students will be made so. Is that enough incentive for you?" Her words were, as they had been for the entirety of the meeting, calm and pleasant, but Leon could detect the smallest hints of annoyance. And he understood completely – there he was, a nobody in her system, trying to coerce what essentially amounted to favors out of her, the most powerful person in the school. That he got away with it was nothing short of some sort of miracle.

"You are too generous, Lady Satsuki. And your generosity will not be wasted, I promise."

"Yes, of course. Don't waste promises on me, Afreds. You know the consequences of failure. Jakuzure."

"Yes, Lady Satsuki?"

"Escort this man back to his home and make sure the rest of his club members are informed of this new arrangement."

"I can do that my-" Leon started.

"Our business is done here, you are dismissed," said Satsuki, cutting him off before he could finish. Her tone was fierce, decisive, and enough to make him catch his words at the back of his throat. Instead, he just nodded and stood. Nonon stepped to his side and politely (something quite odd for her) helped him out of the room, closing the door with a short bow to her superior.

 **. . .**

"You know I can't decide whether you're crazy or just plain stupid," Nonon said as she and Leon walked through the streets of Honno Town. Normally, she had told him, she wouldn't be caught dead in the Zero Star section of town, but orders were orders.

"I don't know what you mean, I think that went rather well," Leon said, though there was no smile on his face. He walked with a slight slouch, hands in the pockets of his pants.

"And you nearly got yourself kicked out of the academy. You really think you're hot shit don't you?"

"That sounds pretty gross, actually," he said with a small laugh. This seemed to send the short drum-major over the edge, and with a growl she grabbed Leon by the collar and pulled him down to her level.

"Listen to me. Despite what you think Satsuki is my friend and I won't see you disrespect her like that again," her eyes were ablaze and Leon, though he had trouble holding her gaze, kept his eyes locked onto hers, "And if you do I'll make sure to gut you myself. Are we clear?"

"As crystal."

"Good," she said, releasing him, "and next time maybe wear a clean shirt to school, you look like a slob. I don't know why I even bother babysitting you." She said, turning to walk away. Leon was about to ask her where she was going but thought better of it, knowing that, with someone like her, it was best to just let her be.

"Well if it's such a burden," he mumbled turning and stepping into the building, passing another resident and nodding to them as he did. They said nothing but stepped to the side as he came through. Up one flight of stairs and down one hallway later and he was standing in front of his door, working with his keyring to find the one that would let him in.

"I should really trash a couple of these, I don't need half of them," he said to himself, finally fishing out the right key – small and bronze colored – and unlocking the door and stepping in. With a flick of a switch the initially dark room was bathed in electric light, and Leon glanced around his makeshift home. To his left was his bed – a single twin sized mattress sitting on the maroon colored carpeting. The sheets were in a state of complete disarray, owing mostly to the fact that he didn't really care that much about them. He was a restless sleeper, so they were just going to get messed up again anyway. His single pillow, hanging halfway out of a plain blue pillowcase, was sitting on the floor next to the bed, with his laptop and headphones next to that, the former plugged into the nearest wall socket to charge. Just above the bed was the only window in the apartment, looking out across a small alleyway to another set of apartments.

A few feet from the bed was a short coffee table with a glass top. At any given time Leon knew there would be a myriad of student papers and, he accepted with a groan, there would only be more from here on out. It crossed his mind that he should probably make a trip for more pens tomorrow. That and he should probably clean off the assorted cans and bottles he left there – the last thing he needed was to spill cola all over the only thing keeping him at Honnouji Academy. With a sigh, Leon stepped around the counter that separated his carpeted living area from the tacky white and black tiled kitchen. A ceiling fan squeaked in slow circles as he popped open the fridge. Nothing there worth his time, it seemed, and no money is his pocket until Wednesday. Looked like he would be tightening his belt for a couple of days.

"I think," he said, running a hand through his hair and frowning when it stayed standing, "that I need a nice hot shower."

Half an hour later Leon stepped from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, one towel around his waist and another being run through his still damp hair. He had to admit that the heat and water had cleared his head a bit. He felt energized and focused. Focused enough to catch the sound of a window opening and the voice of a girl. Without his Goku Uniform he could only barely translate what she said, but at the moment that was the last thing on his mind. For a moment the two stared across the alley; he with his hardly covered form, she with her short brown hair and wide brown eyes. Then, without warning, she screamed and covered her eyes, speaking too quickly for him to understand and blushing brightly before slamming the window shut and dropping the blinds. Infected by her sudden panic, Leon found himself quickly doing the same.

"Who the hell was that?" he asked no one in particular. Yesterday nobody lived in that apartment so he didn't think about making sure no one would see him. So much for that, he thought as he quickly got dressed in a red button up shirt and a new pair of black slacks. When he pulled on the jacket that comprised the bulk of his Goku Uniform he felt a sudden rush and a jolt like he'd just bitten into a lemon. As the sensation faded he pulled the blinds open again, noting that the blinds were still down across the alley, and looked at a neon sign nearby. Within seconds the kanji running down it began to make sense until he could read it fully. "Cafe."

"All right, perfect," he said, picking up his black book and depositing it into an interior pocket on the left side of his jacket. He walked to his door and checked to make sure his keys were in his pocket and, satisfied with the jingling sound they made when he moved them, left. Though it wasn't necessarily his fault, he needed to go and apologize to that poor girl he very likely scarred. She looked familiar, so he had no doubt she was a student. Better he said something as soon as possible, rather than have an awkward random meeting later. With long strides he made his way out of the building the same way he had come in (even passing by the same resident he had earlier) before turning and beginning to walk down the sidewalk, nearly bumping into someone on the way. She was an older looking woman and, to his surprise, looked a lot like the girl from earlier.

"Oh I'm so sorry," she said after stumbling back and putting a hand to her chest, startled, "I was just going to bring these croquettes to...oh it's you!"

Ten minutes later, Leon found himself sitting with a small family (the Mankanshoku family, they told him) in their equally small apartment, eating a meal of croquettes (made of various meats of various origins) and rice. The woman he bumped into was Sukuyo Mankanshoku and, having been on the way to apologize for the incident with her daughter Mako, insisted he come and share dinner with them as compensation. Now he watched as the veritable mountain of food in front of him visibly lost it's mass as the family around him (Mako, Sukuyo, her son Matoro, her somewhat rotund husband Barazo, and their dog Guts) voraciously tore into it. The only ones not eating as if it were their last meal were Leon and, to his surprise, Ryuko Matoi. The two sat across from each other, with the latter glaring knives into the former.

"So," she started, taking a bite of a croquette and chewing it slowly, her eyes never leaving him, "I guess you're gonna say it's just a coincidence that you live in the apartment across from this one, right? Or are you actually following me around?" Leon took a bite from his own plate and gazed back at her.

"Well, seeing as how that apartment was unoccupied yesterday, I think it would be more believable that you're the one following me around," then, with a smirk, "in fact, this will be the third time you've popped up."

"Oh you two know each other? I had no idea!" said Mako, seemingly oblivious to the tension between the two of them and completely over her embarrassment. She took another large bite from her plate and continued talking.

"So what are you, her boyfriend or something? Ryuko you never told me you had a boyfriend!" At this both Leon and Ryuko started, both trying to deny at the same time while blood rushed to their faces. In response, Sukuyo laughed and smiled pleasantly as she handed him another bowl of rice.

"Good job on catching that one, Leon. I personally never thought she would settle down," then, leaning in and holding a hand up as if to make sure Ryuko didn't hear, "she's something of an exhibitionist." At this Leon tried and failed to stifle his laughter. He couldn't tell if they were being serious or just ribbing the poor girl, but one thing was for sure – even though Ryuko Matoi was not a blood member of their family, she was just as close. In fact (though he wouldn't admit it out loud) he was kind of envious of that. He'd never really had anything like that back home.

"No, guys," said Ryuko loudly, still red in the face, "it's nothing like that. I ran into this guy last night getting his ass kicked and helped him out. Ever since then he's just kind of been showing up."

"Well, I guess Honno Town is just smaller than it looks," said Leon, picking at the food in front of him with a small smile. From there the conversation died off for a few minutes, with the rest of the family eating as they were, without a care in the world, and Ryuko and Leon eating slowly, one keeping an eye on the other and vice-versa.

"So Leon," started Sukuyo, "how long have you been in Honnouji? I don't recall seeing you around."

"It was two weeks ago. I came in by plane from Kansas City."

"Oh an American. I thought as much. What brings you to Japan? Transfer?"

"Something like that yeah," Leon answered, scratching the back of his head when he realized that the entire family was paying attention to him now. Even Ryuko stared with genuine interest.

"I'm part of a program that Satsuki Kiryuin enacted a few months ago. The way it read to me was like it was some kind of bet or show of superiority but I went for it anyway."

"Show of superiority?" asked Ryuko with some venom in her words, "Sounds like her."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too. Anyway, the gist of the deal is that she wants to prove that the students at Honnouji Academy are better than any other students anywhere, so she sent a student to my original school and I came here."

"And let me guess, the person she sent also got to take a Goku Uniform," said Ryuko, not really asking the question. Leon nodded and smirked as he took stock of his own Uniform.

"Yup. It's a good thing I caught on quick and got my own or I might have lost," he said with a laugh that said, overall, he didn't really care about losing or not.

"Yeah but that still doesn't explain why you came here," said Mataro with his arms crossed, "if the deal was half as bad as it sounded I don't see why anyone would take her up on it." Leon shrugged.

"I saw an opportunity and took it. I've always wanted to travel."

After dinner the Mankanshoku's were more than happy to let him stay, but Leon insisted that he go. He had a lot of work to take care of, after all, and not a whole lot of time to do it. Now, he sat on his bed with the coffee table pulled close, pen in hand and paper underneath. His work was slow and tedious, but he was happy to see that the "in" pile he had was no longer taller than his "out" pile. With a smile he shook his slowly cramping hand before reaching up with both hands and stretching. At this rate, he could, just barely perhaps, get all the work done before Satsuki's new deadline.

"Well," he said quietly, leaning back and laying his head on his hands, "as long as we work together. I can't believe they've been so willing to help." The Writing and Linguistics Club originally only had the one member – himself. It was a ploy to get a Goku Uniform that might help him master Japanese since his unaided fluency was...less than subpar. And then he met the fireball that was Matsuo Michiyuki and her followed, Yamada. Together they not only made the club what it was (in all honesty Leon's place as "president" was more in name than anything else), but also gave him a purpose in a place where he didn't really have all that much purpose to be in the first place.

Leon could have stayed like that, lying back comfortably and letting his thoughts wander despite all the work he had to do, until he eventually fell asleep. However, it would seem that fate would have none of that, and three quick and harsh knocks pulled him from his reverie. He worked his way up to his feet and began walking toward the door as a few more knocks echoed through his small and mostly empty apartment.

"Yeah, I'm on the way just give me a second," he grumbled loudly enough for the person outside to hear, pulling his deadbolt and turning the door lock before pulling the door itself open to reveal, for the third time that day, Ryuko Matoi. In one of her hands was a plate with foil over it.

"I was told to bring you some of the leftovers from dinner," she said, holding them out with a bored look on her face. Leon took them with a smile and a nod of thanks as she turned, wordless, and began walking down the hall. Before she got to the stairs he called out.

"Hey, Matoi!"

"What?" she asked, turning and glaring at him. He noticed how it seemed like her sailor uniform was glaring as well.

"I just wanted to apologize for earlier today – I probably should have just talked to you, rather than immediately...well, you know what happened."

"Sure, apology accepted or whatever. Let's just say you owe me one," she said, turning back and giving him a bored wave as she stepped down the stairs, eventually vanishing completely from sight. Leon watched with a smirk until she was gone.

"You got it," he said, and closed the door.


	4. The Pen is Mightier

**Chapter 3 – The Pen Is Mightier...**

The library was a veritable beehive of activity the next day. Leon and the One Star students were all gathered around a single table, stacks and stacks of papers in front of them. They almost seemed to be in a trance, burning through paper after paper with record speed. The rest of the group was busy running papers and books to and from the same table, while some were taking full notebooks out of the library. Ryuko stood by the door, watching with a bored expression as student after student passed her by. Overall they seemed to have accepted her presence, though every once in a while she would receive a nervous look or two.

"Yamada! I need you to take these to the World History room on the third floor!" Matsuo called from the center of the room. The young student stepped forward with an energy that was uncommon to his typical timid nature and took the notebooks she held out for him. Then, with just as much energy, he rushed out of the room.  
The work went like this for about half an hour before, as one of the students went to step through, the doors burst open and a group of students stormed in. They were all wearing Goku Uniforms that made them look like they belonged more in a safari than in a school, and each of them carried a rifle. All heads turned to them as they all pointed their guns at the group around the table and, in unison, fired a barrage of red feathered darts.

"One Stars!" cried Matsuo, "Defensive Argument!" As if she were their commander the other four One Star students leaped up from their places and pulled out small notebooks not unlike Leon's own. They held the notebooks open and the pages flew from them, creating a thin wall of pages that, surprisingly, stopped the darts.

"Well well," came a baritone of a voice from behind the intruders, accompanied by slow clapping. "Seems I underestimated the capabilities of the Writing and Linguistics Club. You're faster on the draw than I expected." The man speaking was tall, muscular, and had shaggy black hair that hung down past his shoulders. The features of his face were angular and wild, and his eyes were a wild looking amber color. His teeth seemed sharp, like a wolf's, and he wore a Goku Uniform that consisted of a tight fitting, sleeveless shirt and a loin-cloth that (thankfully) fell down to knee length, and a pair of silver and black gloves.

"Hey just what the hell do you think you're doin'?" asked Ryuko, who had been forced to move out of the way of the students that had barged in. She now stood between them and the rest of the people in the library.

"Oh? I didn't know _you_ were a part of this club. This is a fight I was not expecting to have."

"I'm not," said Ryuko with a scowl, "but if you're looking for a fight I'd be more than happy to kick your ass!"

"Stop," came Leon's voice as the wall of paper quickly fell apart, "there won't be any fighting in here. And if there is it won't be you fighting, Matoi."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ryuko asked as Leon stepped forward and in front of her. He gave her a glance and a smirk.

"It means, if it comes down to it, it's my business," then, to the intruder, "Now then. Just who are you and what do you want with us?" In answer, the man pointed a thumb to his chest and smiled wide.

"My name is Okami Ryu, President of the Zoology Club," then, losing the smile and suddenly very serious, "Word is your club has struck a deal and won't have to participate in the Election like everyone else. Sounds pretty unfair to me."

"Yeah, right. Unfair. Because _all_ we have to do is sort through all the work _you've_ done and make sure it sparkles," Leon answered, his tone practically caked with sarcasm, "it's not like you'll really lose your place anyway. Who are you under, Inomuta?"

"That doesn't matter," said Okami with a growl, "we know the stakes and we aren't going to let some group of nobodies get through with a free ride. You want to mark your territory? Gotta spill some blood first." Leon would have told him that what he said didn't make any sense, but as soon as he stopped talking Ryu was in motion, quickly closing the distance between himself and his target. Leon only had a moment to react, pulling his book out of his inside pocket and holding it up defensively. The blow connected with the leather-bound surface and absorbed the impact, but the force was enough to send Leon rocketing backward over the stacks. He finally came to a stop when he collided with a shelf filled with books. Though some books did fall around him, he was happy that the shelves in the library were practically welded to the floors. With a pained groan he forced himself to his feet just in time to see Ryu leap up and perch like some kind of predator on the shelf opposite him.

"I'm surprised that book's not in tatters," said Ryu, pointing at the black book in Leon's hand, "the Gorilla Punch generally destroys whatever I throw it at. That thing got Life Fibers or something?" Leon smirked at this.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact. That, and I've got a few more surprises up my sleeve," said Leon, popping the book open. The majority of the pages, it seemed, were blank, and there was a pulse of energy from him. Ryu notices this immediately and leaps down from the shelf in an attempt at a horribly telegraphed comet punch. Leon jumped to the side, dodging the attack and flipping pages into the air. At first, they fell like paper would but, after a moment and a twist of his wrist, they twisted into sharp cones that hung in the air for only a moment before launching at Ryu with intense speed. The Zoology Club president, taken by surprise, jumped up and away from the attack, clambering up one of the shelves but unable to dodge all of the projectiles. One dug into his leg like an arrow as he reached the top and flipped over, splattering blood on the shelf behind him as Leon started running, hoping to make some ground between himself and his enemy. Maybe he could even get out in the open – he definitely wouldn't last another close encounter with that ape of a man.

"Sneak attacks only work once!" snarled his opponent as a powerful slam knocked books to the floor and nearly destroyed part of the shelving that contained them. As he ran, Leon could see Okami dashing alongside him through the slats, pounding the shelf every once in a while until the two of them came to a gap between the bookshelves. Leon kept moving forward, taking a quick sidestep to jump into another lane, using it to make some distance between himself and his enemy. It seemed to work, too, until Okami came smashing through the stacks and stopping in front of him. The larger man had a cocky grin on his face.

"Don't think a bunch of paper and wood is going to keep me from catching my prey!" he said as his gloves grew long Life Fiber claws. Leon took a step back and held his arms up defensively, though he knew one hit from those claws would probably tear through his jacket and book regardless of what they were made of. As Okami cocked his hand back to strike, Leon took his chance and stabbed with his pen, making a small cut that didn't do much in the way of damage but staggered Okami for a moment.

"You little bastard," Okami snarled, curling his fist and catching Leon with a sidelong punch that sent him careening into the broken shelving. Leon kept his feet as well as he could, holding his side and dodging to the left as another strike came crashing toward him, claws extended and ready to eviscerate. The strike cleaved through the bookshelf like paper (giving Leon something to compare to what might happen if he got hit) and, in a rather fortunate turn of events, caused it to come crashing down.

"What?" was all Okami could gasp out before the shelf and all it's contents fell on top of him. On the other side Leon could see the entrance to library and took off toward it, hearing the sound of wood cracking behind him and knowing that his opponent wouldn't take too long to catch up. He just needed to get out in the open.

"Leon!" called Matsuo as he stumbled out from the stacks, falling into a roll that saved him from the chunk of shelf that came flying over his head. As he rolled he flipped his book open, turning through the pages frantically in search of an empty one.

"What are you doing, dumbass?!" yelled Ryuko as Okami came barreling out from the same spot, looking a little beaten, a little bruised, and a whole lot angrier than he was before. He approached Leon slowly, cracking his knuckles, and Ryuko took a confident step forward only to be stopped by the raised arm of Matsuo. The redhead's eyes were focused forward and the look on her face – a small smirk and wide eyes – told Ryuko that she was missing something. As Okami lifted his arm for a powerful,l life ending strike, Leon found a blank page and quickly put his pen to paper, scribbling out a few quick words before slapping the book closed. As soon as he did this, Okami seemed to freeze where he was standing.

"Wait...why is he stopping?" asked Ryuko. Matsuo smiled smugly and pushed her glasses up her nose as Leon stood, taking defensive stance and holding his book in front of him. The pages began to flip around wildly until they all ripped from the book entirely, swirling around him as if he were suddenly surrounded by a whirlwind. The whole thing had a magical feeling to it, accentuated by what Matsuo said next.

"It's all over now. A little blood is all Leon needs to hit someone with Suspension of Disbelief. The Life Fibers do the rest of the work, connecting a single thread to the victim's mind and showing them whatever he wants them to see." At this point in her monologue, Okami started to move and twitch ever so slightly.

"Unfortunately, while he isn't writing, the effect slowly wears off," she continued, but her smirk was ever present, "of course, that doesn't matter at this point. Like I said...it's all over." As she spoke these last words Okami seemed to come to, confused as to where he was as his hands fell to his sides. Meanwhile, the pages whipping around Leon began focusing around his left arm as he cocked it low and back, his hand forming into a fist as he put all his strength into an uppercut punch that made his opponent's head snap back and up as he was lifted off his feet and thrown back.

"One Thousand Paper Cuts!" Leon cried, and in response the pages whipped forward into the air, surrounding Okami in a crinkling sphere of paper through which he could barely be seen. The pages only lifted the man higher into the air as he cried out, the pages leaving their mark, inconsequential individually but devastating en mass, in his skin. When it was all over, Okami came falling to the ground in a defeated heap, the pages thinning out quickly before he landed and returning to Leon's book, snapping shut when they were all back in their places. Okami's Goku uniform, scant as it may have been before, was torn to useless shreds by the cutting pages and he was left groaning on the ground.

"Take him and leave," said Leon, panting a little but putting on the most intimidating tone he could muster. He half turned and gave the rest of the Zoology club a stern glare, trying to drive his point home, and the assembled students stiffened at his gaze before jumping to work, gathering up their leader and dragging him out by his shoulders. As they crossed the threshold of the room Okami grumbled something along the lines of "this isn't over" but Ryuko, leaning against the wall next to the doorway, merely sneered and rolled her eyes as they passed. Once they were all gone, the room went silent. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath. Waiting, though for what exactly was a bit of a mystery.

"Well," started Leon with a sigh and a nervous laugh, "that went well, I think." With this the atmosphere seemed to lift a little, and the rest of the Linguistics club began to clean up the mess their most recent visitors had caused. Matsuo, meanwhile, was immediately at Leon's, forcing him to sit even though he didn't seem all too interested in it.

"I'm fine."

"You got launched through the air like a ragdoll you're not fine," combated the redhead as she looked him over, unbuttoning his shirt so she could get a look at his side. He struggled for a few moments but eventually gave in. There was no point in fighting her at this point – she was going to check his wounds, even if she had to time him down to do it.

"Wow," she said as the white cloth was peeled back to reveal the slowly purpling bruise over his ribs, around a foot wide, "you're lucky he didn't get a good shot off, or else these might have been broken." As she spoke she felt around the bruise slowly and firmly, doing her best not to hurt him any further and looking for any breaks. Not for the first time, Leon felt grateful that her parents were both doctors.

"All right, you seem to be in good enough shape, but you're going to be hurting for a couple of days."

"Told you," he replied, buttoning up his shirt. The sight of Ryuko approaching caught his attention. She had her arms crossed and seemed to be making an effort to keep her eyes to the side, apparently to avoid looking at him while his shirt was still undone. Once he was decent, however, she met him with a hard glare.

"You know I could have taken him out in a second, right? I don't see the sense in letting yourself get hurt."

"It was my fight," Leon retorted, which earned him a slight smack on the back of his head before Matsuo walked off.

"Well. Whatever. At least hanging out in here is less boring than it was before," Ryuko said. Leon stood slowly, not wanting to jar his now aching side too much, and patted her on the back as he began to walk by.

"And it's going to get way more exciting. You and I are going somewhere." To this Ryuko could only look at him with a raised eyebrow and a scowl.

"And what the hell do you mean by that? Where do you think you're going to take me, to dinner or something? Give me a break."

"Ha, you wish," he replied with a smirk as he grabbed her lightly by the wrist and began walking. To his surprise she didn't resist.

"Then what?"

"We're going to visit Jakuzure about this," he said, smiling wide as he looked back at her, "and I'll need you as my witness, of course."


End file.
